"A run-of-the-mill, standard strip center is great for some things, but I think when people are going out and socializing, whether they're going to the beer garden or just sitting on the patio and experiencing nature, they want a fun place to gather." That's Matthew Kelley of Market Square Companies, speaking to the Houston Chronicle in May about the project his firm is building at Dairy Ashford and Briar Forest.
He was describing Ashford Yard. The same idea also fits what's going on a few minutes away on Grisby Road. This fall, the two biggest changes to where Memorial West goes out are both happening on Energy Corridor ground that was already built on. One is a pub that has stood for 30 years. The other is a former Schlumberger site. Both are being rebuilt around patios, open air and a pitch to the people who live nearby.
The Pub That Kept Its Building and Changed Its Name
Watson's House of Ales poured its last round at 14656 Grisby Rd. on August 8, 2026, after 30 years in business. According to Chron, the closing was announced in late July, only about a week before the final day. In its Facebook farewell, as quoted by Chron, the pub wrote:
"What started as a neighborhood pub became a place where friendships were made, celebrations were shared, and countless memories were created."
Then the owners added that they weren't leaving and neither was the building. Watson's was a British-American pub, and the new concept is called Nowhere But Texas. Chron reported that early images showed a rustic, wood-heavy exterior in place of Watson's cream-and-red facade. Before closing, the pub auctioned off some of its signature decor. The Houston Chronicle's roundup of August closings listed Watson's next to citywide institutions such as Barbecue Inn and Picos, which shows how much weight a 30-year Energy Corridor pub carries.
The opening date has been a moving target. In mid-August, Chron noted that no official date had been announced, though the restaurant's Instagram bio pointed to September. The most recent word comes from a neighbor's post on Nextdoor, shared about four days before this article was written. It describes soft-opening hours of 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, closed Sunday, then regular lunch and dinner seven days a week starting the following Monday. If that schedule holds, regular service starts around today, October 12. That timing comes from a resident's post and not from the restaurant, so check before you go.
The owners and the address stay the same. What changes is the identity, from a British-American pub to a name that couldn't be anywhere else.
The Yard Going Up on Schlumberger's Old Ground
Over on Dairy Ashford, the larger change is happening at 1315 S. Dairy Ashford Road, at the corner of Briar Forest Drive just south of Terry Hershey Park. The Houston Chronicle reports that this was a former Schlumberger site. Market Square Companies is turning its 12.7 acres into Ashford Yard, an 85,000-square-foot district of patio restaurants and shops arranged around a shaded central green.
The Chronicle notes that most visitors will still drive in. The layout is meant to get them to stay outside and walk between restaurants, bars and shops. Contractors started the first 53,000-square-foot phase in April. That phase was about 60% preleased at the groundbreaking, which Kelley said beat his expectations. The tagline on the project's homepage reads "Ashford Yard Is Your Yard."
Here is the tenant list as the Chronicle reported it in May:
| Tenant | What it is |
|---|---|
| Ashford Beer Garden | 21,000-square-foot anchor with a 10,000-square-foot indoor lounge and an 11,000-square-foot outdoor area for live music |
| Produttori | 3,000-square-foot wine bar from the team behind The Library in Spring Branch |
| U'maki Sushi | High-end sushi |
| Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao | Dumpling shop |
| WokBoktic | Food made with an automated robotic system |
| Morelia Gourmet Paletas | Mexican ice pops |
| Jeremiah's Italian Ice | Dessert |
| Lumen Pilates, Swish Dental, Claw City | Fitness, dental and entertainment tenants |
The beer garden comes from Steven Salazar, the hospitality operator behind Katy Beer Garden, who was also involved with Heights Bier Garten and Pitch 25. The Ashford Beer Garden site promises 100 taps, cocktails, bottled wine and savory bites.
Who the Yard Is Being Built For
Kelley's own pitch shows that Ashford Yard is aimed at two groups. The first is the office crowd that made this part of Houston the Energy Corridor. "Maybe you work on Enclave or Eldridge and you want to get lunch with four of your friends, but you each want something different," he told the Houston Chronicle. "You'll be able to grab it and sit outside at a table and all be together."
The second group is people who live there. A third-party apartment developer is under contract to buy 5 acres inside Ashford Yard for a future complex. "When the multifamily is complete, you'd be able to walk outside your front door and go to the restaurant or dentist," Kelley said in the same interview. Two more pad sites are planned, one for a build-to-suit space and one for a 10,000-square-foot retail building.
Land that once served a single energy company is being rebuilt as a shared green with a dentist, a Pilates studio and a dumpling shop around it.
When It Opens Depends on Which Source You Read
Ashford Yard's timeline has moved more than once, and the published sources don't fully agree:
- May 2025: The Chronicle's first look at Ashford Beer Garden aimed for spring 2026.
- May 2026: At the groundbreaking, Kelley said the beer garden would likely open by the end of 2026. He put construction completion in early 2027 and said the first retailers would open the following spring.
- June 2026: An updated Chronicle development roundup still listed the beer garden for late 2026, with the remaining restaurant tenants likely in 2027.
- Now: The Ashford Yard homepage says "Coming This November" without naming a day or saying which part of the project will open. Its most recent construction update is dated September 25, 2026. The beer garden's own site still says "Coming Soon."
Put together, the most likely reading is that something at Ashford Yard opens before the year is out, and much of the tenant list follows in 2027. The developer hasn't said what opens first.
The Fall Calendar Around Both Addresses
Until the green opens, the nearby calendar is already full. The Energy Corridor District lists several events within a short drive of both sites:
- Thursday, October 15, 4 to 7 p.m.: Unwind & Win at the Hyatt at Black Gold Bar, 13210 Katy Freeway. The District describes it as a recurring Thursday happy hour with prize drawings and a showcase of local-business vendors.
- Friday, November 13: Golden Age Grooves, a dinner-and-cabaret production at Seismique, 2306 S. Texas 6.
- Thursday, December 3, 6 to 9 p.m.: The District's free annual tree lighting at Hyatt Regency Houston West, with a 50-foot tree, a drone show, live performances, Santa photos, children's crafts, food trucks and a holiday market.
Plan ahead if you walk Terry Hershey Park, which sits just north of the Ashford Yard site. Harris County Precinct 4's park page says two bridges are temporarily closed for upgrades. Work on the southeast wooden bridge was set to begin Wednesday, September 16, and work on a northwest bridge between I-10 and Memorial Drive on Wednesday, October 7. The notice doesn't print a year or a completion date. Watson's still shows up as an operating pub on its old website and in the Energy Corridor District's dining directory, so neither one is a reliable guide to what's on Grisby Road right now.
At Property Collective Group, we keep track of projects like Ashford Yard because they can change how buyers look at the streets around them. If you own near Dairy Ashford and Briar Forest and want to know how your home compares as this corner fills in, Request Your Instant Home Valuation, and our team will walk you through what the numbers show.
